This invention relates to a gas turbine engine and more particularly to apparatus for connecting two fluid carrying members together within a gas turbine engine.
Modern gas turbine engines, particularly those engines used to power aircraft, include in a serial flow relationship an inlet, a front fan, a compressor, a combustor, a high temperature turbine to power the compressor and a low temperature turbine to power the front fan. In many of these engines, not all of the air passing through the inlet flows through the remaining engine components. Typically in these engines, a splitter downstream of the fan divides the inlet in stream into two streams: a core air stream, which passes through the compressor, combustor and turbines; and a bypass air stream which flows around these engine components. The bypass stream flows aftward in an annular plenum in an axially extending circumferential duct disposed radially outwardly of the other engine components and may be recombined with the core stream at various axial locations downstream of the engine turbine section. Additionally or alternatively, the bypass stream may be used to cool other components of the engine.
Since the annular plenum carrying the bypass stream surrounds the other components of the engine it is necessary that fluid supply lines associated with the internal engine components must pass through the bypass plenum. Im many instances to facilitate assembly of the engine, it is necessary to provide fluid fittings or connectors associated with these supply lines and to dispose such connectors in the bypass plenum. Occasionally, the connectors may leak and hence some of the fluid carried by the supply lines becomes entrained in the bypass air stream. As the contaminated bypass stream flows aftward, the entrained fluid may become deposited on other engine components or accumulate in cavities or recesses of the engine. In the instance the supply lines carry engine fuel or oil, the accumulated or deposited fluid may create conditions conducive to undesirable combustion. The present invention is directed at preventing this condition.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide means for preventing fluid leaking from fittings or connectors disposed within a gas turbine engine from accumulating therewithin or from contaminating the internal components of the engine. It is another object of the present invention to provide means whereby a leaking fitting or connector may be readily detected without disassembly of the gas turbine engine.